


The Demon's Offspring

by LumianaKatenke



Series: Legacy of the Demon [2]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Adult Dipper Pines, Aged-Up Character(s), But Is Still called Dipper Unless he is Interacting with Others, Canon Compliant, Depression, Dipper Has Changed his Name, Even though she's Half Demon, Ford Is An Ass, Half-Demon Child, He goes by Tyrone Lambert Now, He's doing the best that he can, His Daughter is named Asalie, I Don't Even Know, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, It's Pretty Adorable, Lost Love, M/M, Magic, Major character death - Freeform, Mourning, Older Mabel Pines, Past Human Bill, Past Relationship(s), Please Don't Hate Me, Post-Canon, She is a Sweet Little Angel, Slow Burn, So is Mabel, So many tags, Triangle Bill Cipher, Very Brief & Very Loosely Described Self Performed C-Section, mentions of mpreg, mostly - Freeform, poor guy, single parent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-05
Updated: 2018-12-09
Packaged: 2019-03-14 10:38:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 22,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13588320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LumianaKatenke/pseuds/LumianaKatenke
Summary: 7 years have past since Dipper had lost the man he loved, 7 years since he was betrayed by his family and forced to flee so he could keep his and Bill's baby a secret. Now 25 and a single parent, he struggles to raise his 6 year old daughter alone in a New York town, as far away from his family as he could get. This is the story of how some secrets can never be kept.(This is the first full book of my new series, so please comment what you think and any suggestions you might have! This will get depressing so warning if you are sensitive to this stuff!)(Please read the prologue songfic first!)





	1. Chapter 1

Dipper sighs in relief as walked into his small one floor house, closing and locking the door behind him. Fuck it had been a long day at work. Who knew working in a cafe could be so exhausting? As he set down his things, he heard the quiet thumping of small feet coming down the hall. He looked up as a ball of tan and gold fluff jumped into his arms with a happy squeal of 'Papa!'

Just like that, his exhaustion melted away with a smile as he hugged his daughter. "I missed you too, my little Star."

Asalie giggles as she pulls away enough to look up at her Papa. "Papa my names Asalie! Not Star!"

"It's a nickname, little one." He smiles and kisses her forehead, where a small star-shaped birthmark was, hidden by her blonde curls. His daughter was the spitting image of Bill's human form, tanned skin, golden-blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He both loved and hated that, since she reminded him so much of his dead lover. Even her taste in clothes was like his, loving to wear pretty blouses and skirts or dress slacks with little bow ties. He thought that it was adorable and embraced her taste, letting her pick what she wanted. "Did you have fun with Miranda today?"

Miranda, his babysitter, appeared as Asalie nodded excitedly, babbling on about how they had painted pretty pictures, watched cartoons and went over her maths and English. The young woman was a petite Mexican woman who had moved in the area about a year before he did with his at-the-time newborn Asalie. She became a close friend of his and had become his babysitter. She was practically his sister and had been very accepting when he told her that he was gay, even talking to him about cute guys she had seen and getting his opinion. Thankfully she never pried into his past when he was reluctant to tell her about his family an past.

She smiles warmly as she stretched up to ruffle his hair affectionately. "How was work today, Tyrone? Did you manage not to scald yourself this time?" She chortled as he rolled his eyes, her voice soft and fluffy, like cotton.

"First of all, that happened ONE time! Second, it was really busy today since the college kids are going back to school. Makes me anxious of how Asa is going to be starting school this year." He admitted, holding a still chattering Asalie even though he and Miranda weren't really listening.

"Oh that's how all first time parents feel. My little sister was the same way when her first kid went to school for the first time. You'll adjust sooner then you think. Asalie is a bright little girl, she already can write whole paragraphs and all the basic math. Heck, she's practically already at the third grade level at least and she hasn't even gone to preschool. She's outgoing and talks to anyone. She'll be fine."

"I know... But I can't help but worry about if she'll be bullied. Kids are awful to each other, I know that very well." He glanced at the bright sparkling eyes of his 6 year old. Technically he should have sent her to school last year, but he had held off, wanting to be a little selfish and to make sure she had a better grasp on her magic.

"Hermanito, you worry too much. You've taught her how to keep her temper, all you can do is give her a chance. She'll never learn to be her own person if you don't give her a chance."

He sighs in resignation, nodding. "I know... Alright, thanks Miranda. You always know what what to say."

"It's my job, Hermanito. Now come on, I made you some empanadas." He felt his belly growl at the thought of the babysitter's cooking. She really was the best. He followed her to the dining room, still holding Asalie, who had by that point just listened to the grown ups with big eyes. The aroma of the authentic Mexican cuisine filling the air with a delicious aroma.

As he sat down with his friend and his daughter to eat, he dimly felt a pang in his heart as he thought about how Bill should be here to enjoy this with him. Sometimes he could almost swear that the demon was there in his dreams, because whenever it began to turn into a nightmare, he would see a tiny blue spark and the nightmare turned to a happy memory of him spending time with the demon. Either being taught magic or dates in the depths of the forest where they had thought they could be together without the fear of being seen by the human's family. He would sometimes dream of their more intimate moments, how their heated breath would steam up in the cool evening air as their bodies intertwined in cycles of passion and love. How at some point, their desire had led to an impregnated Dipper. Once a moment of pure joy at the idea of having a family together, all too soon turning to one of agony as they were discovered while on one of their dates. A suspicious Ford following his great nephew as he hiked along into the depths of the forest to meet with his forbidden lover.

A flash of light as Bill appeared in front of his human, immediately embracing him and kissing him lovingly. A few moments of ignorant bliss before a shot rang out in the mid-afternoon air, a hole appearing in Bill's side with a gasp of shock as he couldn't heal it, collapsing to the ground with a horrified cry from Dipper, catching his beloved as he went down. A few murmured words in Latin and a hand on his belly using up what magic he had left from entering their plane, what normally was replenished over the hours they spent together. Dipper clutched at his lover as blood began to pool beneath him, glancing to where the shot had come from. Horror and anger filling him like hot tar as his great uncle emerged from the shadows, glaring at the forbidden couple.

Dipper was jolted from his thoughts as a plate clicked while being set down in front of him. He blushed a bit, looking up to meet the curious gaze of his friend. He smiles sheepishly as he murmured thanks, picking up an empanada and breaking it open to cool faster. He glanced at Asalie who was mimicking his movements.

After an early dinner, Miranda helped him clean up before saying her farewells, having to go to her overnight job as Hostess at a local diner. Asalie hugged her tightly, asking if she was going to come over tomorrow. "No, mi Sabrina. Tomorrow you and your Papa are going to go and buy school supplies."

The 6 year old pouted for a moment at not being able to spend more time with her babysitter, before cheering up since she was going to be spending the whole day shopping with her Papa, and she loved shopping since they didn't do it often. "Ok!" She hugged her one last time before Dipper urged her to go and get ready to take her bath, skipping down the hall.

Dipper, or Tyrone Lambert as he now went by, turned to the Mexican woman, pulling out his wallet to pay her for sitting. "Ah ah, no I'm giving you a freebie day. I know how much she likes to shop, so put that money to getting her some good supplies." He began to protest but thought better of it. She was a stubborn woman after all, especially once she made up her mind. He put away his wallet and smiles gratefully, pulling her into a tight hug. "You are the best friend I could ever ask for. I don't know what I would do without you."

"Just fine, I think." She chuckled, patting his back a few times before pulling away, smiling warmly. "Goodnight, mi Hermanito."

"Goodnight, mi Hermana mayor." He replied, waving as she walked down the path to her parked car, watching as she left before closing the door and locking up. He turned to head down the hall, finding a naked Asa waiting for him by the tub, picking out which toys she wanted to play with tonight. His lips quirk in a bittersweet smile as he closed the door to keep in the warmth, tugging off his shirt. He hung it up before turning to fill the tub with warm water, adding Asa's favorite lemon and lavender scented bubble bath.

Where would he be if it wasn't for Miranda...


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late post, I've been a bit busy from college. :P
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy this glimpse into how Dipper gave birth and the inspiration for Asalie's name!
> 
> Please leave a comment on what you think, advice and criticism is always welcome!
> 
> -Lumi

The next morning brought unseasonably warm weather, prompting Dipper to give Asalie a bright yellow skirt with black leggings and a yellow blouse with a little bow to wear for their shopping trip. It struck Dipper with how similar she looked to Bill once more and he had to fight back a few tears while he helped her dress. Once she was, he carried her to the kitchen for a light breakfast of cereal and those sweet mini oranges that had been a huge hit as of late.

Asalie quickly gobbled up her food, eager to get going. She only slowed when Dipper reminded her that she would get an upset tummy if she ate too fast. As an apology, she scrambled up onto her stool to help her Papa wash the dishes once they had finished eating, chattering away like a little sparrow about how she was excited to start school and hang out with other kids. Due to Dipper being new to the area when she was still a few months old, he didn't really have the money to put her in daycare, instead getting permission from his boss to bring her with him to the Cafe or leaving her with Miranda. Thanks to that, she didn't get to play with other kids her age, instead spending most of her time with adults and teenagers.

He had been worried about that affecting her ability to make friends at school but as Miranda had reminded him, the 6 year old was very out going so he doubted that she wouldn't make at least ONE friend, and one friend was all you needed. Speaking of, he still had to remind her not to show anyone her magic, even any friends she made. Ever since she turned one, she had begun to show signs of having magic, light bulbs bursting when she cried, her favorite toy or blanket appearing out of nowhere in her arms when it had been misplaced, treats that she wanted and told she couldn't have floating towards her when Dipper or Miranda's backs were turned. Things like that. So Dipper had spent the majority of his free time helping her to learn how to control her magic so that when she did go to school, she wouldn't accidentally out them.

Most people weren't exactly welcoming of magic after all. He learned that the hard way. The dishes done, he scooped up the 6 year old and carried her to the front door, grabbing his wallet, keys and phone. He tucked the phone and wallet into his shorts, he locked up the house behind them and walked to his car, a small blue Chevy Sonic that he had gotten at a great deal. He had never been so grateful for Bill's lessons in haggling, they were far better then Stan's. He buckled Asalie into her car seat, giving her a smooch on her cheek when she asked for one, giggling happily when he did. He made sure she was secure before closing the door and getting into the driver's seat, buckling up and starting the car.

As he pulled out of his driveway, his body went on autopilot while his thoughts drift back into the small town he had stayed in when he was close to giving birth, hiding out in a rundown, abandoned building where he used his own magic to clean the place up and sterilize it for when he would go into labor. Since he had no birth canal, he would have to perform an c-section on himself, so he didn't exactly want to be infected with anything. He was in the middle of cooking his dinner when he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen and felt something wet trickle down his pant leg from his anus. He briefly froze in shock, mind not quite catching up before his body went into autopilot and turned off the camping stove and walked him into the back room he had set up for when the time came. Well the time was now.

He stripped himself down to nothing but his damp boxers and climbed on to the table, leaning against the mound of pillows. He used his magic to move the multitude of mirrors to where he could see his swollen belly from all angles. Since he couldn't reach down to where he needed to cut, he also used his magic to get the scalpels and other tools he needed, hissing as his contractions began. He wouldn't have time to use an anesthetic so instead he just began to cut, ignoring the pain of slicing himself open.

It took about 45 minutes to finish the procedure.

By the end of it, he was in a lot of pain and was barely able to clutch his newborn daughter while he stitched himself up. He managed to clean out the wound and held the newborn to his chest before passing out from the agony and exhaustion, barely able to feel the swell of joy as he gazed at his daughter before his eyes closed.

When he came to, the sky outside the window was beginning to turn a light grey as dawn approached. He blinked open bleary eyes, only registering a great ache throughout his body before he looked down and saw a slumbering baby in his arms. The memories clicked in his mind and tears of joy and agony spilled from his eyes as he got his first clear look at her. She was a tiny little baby, probably only 7 lbs, blonde peach fuzz covering her little tan scalp. The sun began to peak over the horizon, flooding the room with watery yellow light by the time he finally realized that she was stirring. He watched in awe as her eyes opened for the first time, revealing a pair of almost glowing blue eyes, looking up at the being that had carried her in his womb for 9 months. She let out a burbling sound as she reached up from the folds of the towel he had swaddled her in to grasp at the air in front of his face.

He let out a soft chuckle as he brought up a hand to let her tiny hands grasp firmly on his fingers, surprised by how strong her grasp was already. As the sunlight began to drift from the wall down to the mother and his newborn daughter, he knew what he was going to name her. "Asalie, starting life at dawn... Welcome to the world, Asalie... If only your father could be here to see you..." He wiped away his tears, placing a soft kiss on her delicate forehead, murmuring gentle words in Latin about how much Bill would love her.

As he pulled away, he noticed her birthmark for the first time, a little star placed on her forehead like the symbol that had been on the necklace he had made Bill, the one he now wore in the demon's stead. "That hadn't been there before... had it?"

As he expected, the only reply he got was another quiet burble from Asalie. "Well... I guess I just missed it." He shrugged, reaching over the table beside the one he laid on, grabbing a bottle of milk that he had created by converting his own blood along with some other essential things that was normally in a mother's milk. He was glad he had found that book that Bill had given him when he had packed in a hurry before leaving his family. It had everything he needed to know about how to care for a newborn half-demon, all the way into their early years.

Carefully warming it with a little magic, he held it to her lips before she began to suckle, her blue eyes still focused on him while she fed. He smiles and began to hum a song that Bill had loved to her. It was the best he could do, almost feeling like Bill was there with them while he hummed. It was both a comfort and a painful reminder of what he had lost.

Once she had finished feeding, he burped her and began to rock her to sleep, his own belly growling in a reminder that he hadn't eaten last night. He sighs and gingerly twisted his legs off the table, wincing as the movement tugged at his stitches. He shuffled to the crib he had built and carefully laid Asalie in it once she was asleep, tugging off his ruined boxers and pulling on some clean, loose clothes.

Dressed, he looked at the gross remnants of what he had been cooking last not and grimaced, tossing it into the trash. He grabbed a can of soup and poured it into the portable pot before placing it on the stove, beginning to heat it up. He would glance at Asalie occasionally while he cooked, almost afraid that she would disappear while he wasn't looking. He ate his soup while looking out the window to the beautiful morning outside. He dimly thought about staying in this town for the first few months of Asalie being born but decided to think about it later, after he had recovered from the surgery.

After awhile, he cleaned up and picked up his daughter, who slept soundly thankfully. He climbed into the overly padded sleeping bag and tucked her in next to him, one arm carefully draped around her tiny form. He didn't dare stay away from her for too long, afraid that something would happen. This was an instinct that would remain with him forever, now that he was a mother.

He was brought back to the present as he realized that they were nearing the mall and clicked on his blinker before carefully pulling into the parking lot of the small shopping mall. It wasn't much, but Asalie didn't mind nor did he. Parking in a spot that was surprisingly close on a Friday morning, he got out and helped Asalie with her buckles, the tiny bundle of energy practically jumping even in her car seat from excitement. Shopping meant new clothes and sometimes new toys, and now that she was going to school, it meant a new backpack and art supplies and all the other stuff she had seen on tv. Dipper had barely managed to lock the car before she was more or less dragging him through the parking lot and into the mall, leaving it up to her Papa to watch for idiots who drove like madmen through parking lots.

Once they were inside, she let out a quiet squeal, looking around and talking animatedly to her Papa as they walked to the Target. He grabbed a shopping cart and reminded Asalie that she was to stay with him at all times or for every time she disappeared, that meant one thing was put back on the shelf. It was an effective tool to keep her from running off since she didn't want him to put the things she wanted away.

"I know, Papa! I promise to stay with you!" She beamed up at him, causing him to smile more.

"And I know you will, because you're a good girl. Now, let's look at that list. You remembered to bring it, right?"

"Yep!" She pulled out a folded piece of paper from the pocket she had Miranda sow into her skirt since it didn't come with any, a point she was determined to have fixed with all of her clothes. She handed it to him and he opened it up, reading through the list of supplies that had been mailed to them the other day. Once he read through it, he looked around to see what was closest.

"Looks like we're looking at backpacks first, now Asalie, what did I tell you to look for in a backpack?"

"That it has lots of pockets and that it doesn't feel like clothing!"

"And?"

"And..." Her brows scrunched for a moment in thought before she chirped up, beaming. "And it's not too much money!"

"Correct." He smiles at her, ruffling her hair. "Now, as for what color it is and the pattern, choose whatever you like." She cheered and jumped while he chuckles, walking with her to the rows of backpacks. He leaned against the cart while she looked through the wide variety, bouncing with excitement. She reminded him so much of Bill, a ball of energy with a taste for fancy clothes and art. He felt a small lump in his throat at the thought and swallowed, hoping to chase it away. Today was about Asalie, not a day to think about the past. He knew he would never get over Bill, nor would he ever find love again, so he was determined to give their daughter the best life he could.

After all, she deserved it after being robbed of her father...


	3. Chapter 3

By the time they got everything they needed for Asalie, it was already around noon. Dipper smiles a little tiredly at the cashier as she checked them out. "Buying school supplies early, huh? The sales only started today." She commented with a small smile, she was a young blonde girl, probably in her late teens.

Dipper shrugged, smiling fondly down at his daughter and ruffled her blonde curls as she peered up on the conveyor belt at her new things, grinning. "I wanted to be sure she could find everything she wanted. We don't go shopping much, so I figured that we'd get here before all of the good quality supplies were taken."

The girl, Beth according to her name-tag, only smiles more. "I get that, she has a very good dad." Asalie peered up at Beth, grinning.

"Papa's the best papa! He works hard so he can let me dress up!" She bounced happily, tugging at Dipper's hand to ask him to pick her up. This brought a big smile to everyone in earshot as he picked her up, kissing her cheek which made her giggle happily and hug him. Gods she was too adorable, and apparently everyone watching thought so too cause he heard a collective 'awe' from the onlookers. It was almost like the 6 year old gave off an aura that just melted everyone's hearts.

Dipper was seriously beginning to think that maybe it was an ability of hers, but decided that since she wasn't doing any harm he didn't really need to be worried. She was six, who wouldn't think she was adorable with her dark tan skin, bright blue eyes and fluffy blonde curls on top of the sweetest personality. He held her in one arm while he used his free hand to tug out his wallet and handed it to Asalie. "Can you get Papa's blue card? The one with the broken square picture?"

She nodded and opened the wallet, peeking through the wallet before she found the credit card. She looked at him for what to do next and when he nodded to Beth, she leaned over and handed it to the cashier with a beaming grin.

The young woman took it and swiped the card through the reader before handing it back to Asalie, who put the card away and returned the wallet to Dipper. "Thank you, Asalie." He kissed her cheek and put the wallet away before setting her back down so he could finish checking out. They thanked Beth and Dipper placed the bags back in the cart to take her things to the car. They were leaving the store when he felt the chill of someone's eyes on him. He looked around with narrowed eyes but didn't see anyone who was staring at him. Asalie looked at him with an inquisitive tip of her head.

"Papa? What's wrong?"

He shook his head, pushing the feeling to the back of his mind. "Nothing sweetie, Papa just thought he felt someone looking at him. Come on, let's go to that Applebee's that just opened up." She cheered, immediately forgetting that he had been unsettled. Oh to be that innocent again...

They carefully walked through the parking lot and to his car. He loaded their purchases into the trunk and then helped Asalie into her car seat.

Buckled and secured, he kissed her on the top of her head and pulled away, closing the car. He got into the driver's seat and started the engine, receiving a satisfying rumble from the engine. He carefully pulled out and made his way out of the mall, turning to head down the highway and towards the Applebees that had opened up a couple months ago. Because of their small budget, going out to eat was also a rarity, usually Dipper would cook something simple or Miranda would make a dish from her birth country so that they had some variety to their diet. She taught Dipper a few of her simpler dishes, but he just wasn't a very good cook without a step-by-step cookbook for anything more complicated then meatloaf or baked mac'n'cheese (one of Asa's favorites since he added little diced tomatoes).

He never really got them fast food, having grown sick of it while he had been on the run and he figured that home cooked meals would be more healthy. Ironic, considering that fast food was one of his favorites as a kid. Heck, Taco Bell had been his favorite until he had been on the run, and the one time he mentioned it to Miranda, she had berated him since 'that's not REAL Mexican or even Latino food and I'm insulted that you ate that'. Suffice to say, that was when she had decided to make him and Asa food so that they knew real Mexican food. He certainly wasn't complaining, finding her dishes to be way better (and ironically cheaper) then the fast food.

After a short trip that slightly went out of town, they arrived at the restaurant and he found a parking space after a couple passes around. Jeeze they were busy today. Ah well, hopefully the wait wouldn't be too long. He was starving so he was sure Asalie was. Speaking of, she'd been pretty quiet for the drive. He glanced back and smiled softly when he saw she had nodded off. The shopping must have tuckered her out, even with her seemingly endless energy. He quietly got out of the car after cracking open the window next to her. He took the keys and locked up before going inside to check the wait.

The exhausted looking hostess put on a brave smile that was belied by how the bags were already forming under her eyes. He knew that look, having seen it on his face often during the rush hours. He smiles sympathetically at her, noticing all of the seating inside the main entrance was taken by other waiting patrons.

"How many?" She asked, looking behind him to see if there was anyone following.

"Two, one adult and one child. I was wondering how long the wait would be."

Maggie, her name tag read (man they were helpful), looked through her chart on the monitor. "That'll be about a ten minute wait. Is the child in the car? Because I can give you a call-pad in case you want to wait outside."

"That would be good, thank you. And yes, she dozed off on the drive here so I left her with the windows cracked open and the car locked." He takes the offered call-pad, a small device that would light up and buzz when it was their turn to be seated. He thanked Maggie again and went back outside to go wait in the car with Asa. He quietly got in the car once he reached it, rubbing the call-pad between his hands while he looked back at his 6 year old.

She looked so peaceful, he didn't really want to wake her. But he had to, or she would be grumpy later and hungry.

After about five minutes, he gently nudged her.

"Little Star, wake up please. We're going to be called soon to get our seats to eat."

She let out a little mumble, blinking open sleepy eyes. "Daddy...?"

Dipper froze, wondering where that came from. Asalie only called him Papa. He was about to ask her who 'Daddy' was when the call-pad began to go off, their turn was up. Wakened further by the annoying buzzing sound, Asalie yawned and rubbed her eyes. Dipper sighs and gets out of the car, opening her door as she began to make grabby hands for him, still sleepy. He smiles and presses a kiss to her forehead once he picked her up, chuckling when she tucked her face into his neck.

Locking up the car once more, he headed inside with his drowsy daughter. He handed Maggie the call-pad once they were inside and another tired Hostess led them to a window booth, smiling at how cute Asa was, cuddling into him. She placed the menus down while he gently pried Asalie off and sat her on the cushioned bench. She let out another yawn and rubbed her eyes. He thanked the hostess who nodded and headed back to the entrance to lead another group.

Dipper sat down and began to look through the menu when their waiter arrived.

"Hi, I'm Will and I'll be your server for the afternoon." Dipper barely stopped himself from jumping at the name and looked up, relaxing when he saw that Will was just a shorter man with pale skin, ravenette locks and green eyes, looking nothing like Bill. "Can I get you two anything to drink this late summer afternoon?"

"Ah yes, I'll have a pitt-cola. Asalie, what would you like?" She yawned again but was much more awake now. "Lemonade, please." Her remembering her manners brought a smile to his and Will's faces.

"Of course, I'll be right back with your drinks so you two can have a chance to decide what you would like to eat." Will left them and disappeared into the hustle of the restaurant.

Dipper turned to Asalie and they began to look through the menu together, Asalie saying 'Daddy' and the brief moment of being watched forgotten in favor of deciding what to eat for lunch...


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! Sorry for the delay (again) but I swear I'm trying to get into an updating schedule on about every two weeks or so. I might be able to update faster in the future, but no promises. ^~^"
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!
> 
> -Lumi

Dipper lounged back in the booth once he had finished his food, letting out a satisfied sigh. The food had been delicious and very filling, he had even managed to convince Asalie to eat the vegetables that came with her meal. He looked out the window with a small smile as he watched the traffic pass along the tree-lined highway. That was something he was grateful for this area, the abundance of trees. Yeah they weren't as nearly as impressive as Oregon's old growth but that didn't surprise him, considering most of the old trees were turned into ships and buildings in the colonial days. But over the centuries, the inhabitants of New York and nature itself was slowly restoring the state to its former glory. It would probably take thousands of years, but he took comfort in the fact that at least it was happening.

His time in the Falls had given him a great appreciation for nature, especially when he became friends with many of the supernatural creatures who told him of how many of them had fled from other parts of the globe because of human encroachment and hunting. He sympathized with them greatly now that his own family had essentially chased him out. They didn't even give him a chance to show them that... No, if he continued to think about this he would start crying. His hand unconsciously reached up to grasp and rub his necklace for comfort, only turning back to Asalie when she began to ask about desert. He did a quick calculation in his head to see how much he had spent today and whether or not he could afford it.

After a moment of contemplation, he smiles and nods. The desert shooters were cheap enough for him to afford. She grins and bounces a little as Will returned to their table to retrieve their dishes and ask if they wanted desert, standard waiter stuff.

"Ah, yes actually. Two of the chocolate mousse shooters, please." Will nodded, thanking Dipper when he handed him their dishes. "Alright, I'll bring them along with your check if that's all?"

The brunette nodded gratefully, deciding silently to do %20 instead of the standard %15 tip for the man. He was nice, and he's working hard since it was so busy today. Once Will had left them in peace, Dipper turned to Asalie. "So did you have fun today, Asa?" She nodded emphatically, grinning. "I always have fun when I get to spend the day with you, Papa."

He smiles at her words. "I do too, Little Star. You always make me happy." She giggles happily at his words, smiling brightly. Their conversation became mostly one sided as Asalie began to chatter on about what possible changes she would ask Miranda to make to some of the clothes they got and her backpack so that it had hidden pockets. She loved having hidden pockets, even if she didn't put anything in them. She liked to pretend that she made things disappear and reappear from the ether, a skill she had yet to develop though the book said that she should be gaining it between 5 and 6. He wasn't too worried though, since the book was a little outdated.

Successful conception between a demon and a human was rare enough, since the majority of humanity didn't believe in demons and the few who did wouldn't dare to try to court one. Bill himself told him that a demon's emotions were what triggered conception, and that a demon had to be honestly infatuated with a human for it to occur. But then there was the problem of actually carrying the child to term. Because of the major power difference between humans and demons, the drastically different DNA in the offspring had to learn to blend in a safe manner that would compensate to allow the almost limitless magic, abilities and immortality from the demon side and the limited abilities and lifespan of the human side. Because of this delicate balance, many pregnancies ended in miscarriage, often times killing the human from the sudden release of magic if they were the 'mother' and they weren't trained in controlling magic.

So while their pregnancy was a welcome surprise, Bill made sure to warn Dipper about the risks. Despite them, Dipper decided to go through with it, the idea of having a biological child with the man he loved winning out over his worries of possibly dying should he miscarry. He was still grateful though, when Bill managed to find them a book on half-demon offspring, written in a demonic language that the blonde had to teach his mortal lover in order for them to both read it. He was grateful for it now, since otherwise he would be completely in the dark on what to do.

He returned from his thoughts as Will returned with their dessert, stopping her endless talking for all of five seconds before she began to go on and on about how much she loved sweets to the waiter, making her father amused by the surprised look that graced Will's face. He was probably thinking of how she was drowsy and quiet when she first came in and now she was talking a mile a minute about her favorite candies and deserts. After a minute, he decided to give the server a break. "Asa, sweetie. Your dessert is going to get warm if you don't eat it."

She blinked as she paused mid-sentence before nodding and digging into her treat. He smiles at the stunned ravenette, thanking him as he was numbly handed the bill. He looked over the charges and bit back a sigh. Today certainly ended up being a little pricey, what with everything they bought at Target and now eating out. But. It was worth it to see Asalie happy.

Setting aside the bill in favor of eating his own dessert, he dully wondered what Bill's favorite desert would be.

/\/\/\

After paying, they left the restaurant, Dipper nodding to the hostesses as they walked past. It looked like the crowd was thinning so the lunch rush should be about over. He held the door open for a middle aged man who made one glance between him and Asalie before scoffing and walking past without so much as a thank you. Dipper rolled his eyes as he took Asa's hand before making their way through the parking lot to their car. He would get looks like that sometimes from assholes who thought it was a sin to have mixed race children. If she hadn't been there, he would have confronted the man. But since she was, he let it go. He didn't need her exposed to an encounter like that.

He was buckling Asalie into her car seat when he felt something watching him again. Acting casual, he kissed his daughter on her head, making her giggle happily before pulling away. The eyes were still watching him. His eyes slowly scanned the area in his peripheral vision as he got in the driver's seat, pretending to adjust his mirrors so he could look around them more. He felt his blood freeze when he swore he saw brown curls ducking behind a car. 'Stay calm. It can't be her. You've covered your tracks, and you're on the other side of the country. There's no reason for her to be in a small town like Cairo. Just take a deep breath and start the car.'

Listening to his own advice, he did exactly that, inhaling and exhaling slowly before making sure his mirrors were in place before starting the car. After he checked to make sure he was clear, he pulled out of the parking spot and made his way to the highway, turning onto it to head home. He made sure to take the more scenic route once he reached the town line, just in case, since it had more twists, turns and roads that acted like a maze and would confuse anyone who didn't know them.

It was about 2:30 by the time they got home and he helped Asalie out of her seat before grabbing their things from the trunk, locking up the car before heading inside.

He brought the clothes to the laundry room to wash, setting them into a couple of loads so that the colors wouldn't bleed into the lighter clothes. A load thrown in and running, he went down the hall to Asa's room where he found her going through her old clothes. Again. "Deciding on what to give to other kids again, sweetie?" She turned to him with a smile and a nod. "Yeah! Since I got new clothes, why not give away some old ones?" He smiles and presses a kiss to her curls. "Do you want me to help? I brought your new supplies inside so we can organize them too." She nodded happily and handed him a ball of clothes once he put down the bags.

"These are d-don-aaa-tions." She struggled a little with the bigger word. Clever as she may be, she was still 6 and while she knew the words, she sometimes had difficulty saying them. "Please fold them, Papa?" 

"Of course." He smiles and sits next to her to begin folding. The whole donating old clothes thing was thanks to Miranda. She was helping him try to figure out taxes and had mentioned donating things to places like the Salvation Army or SPCA or other charities would give him a tax break. It had been just then that a 4 year old Asalie had walked in, asking if she could help her Papa by giving away something. Miranda asked if she had a lot of something that she didn't want anymore and the little girl had said clothes. Ever since then, she would go through her clothes and set aside ones she didn't like as much anymore or were too small and she would go with Dipper to a local charity building that took donations for homeless and impoverished families. She always smiled brightly to the attendant who was working at the counter and proclaimed loud enough that mostly everyone in the building could hear her about how she was helping her Papa AND other kids by giving away her old clothes rather then throw them away.

Dipper always smiled and couldn't be more proud of her generosity. He wondered how Bill would have reacted to her actions. Even after he had changed, he had still been rather selfish and a little possessive. He couldn't blame the demon for his nature though and had just rolled with it. Even in the early stages of their relationship, when they had still only been friends, he had to make deals with the blonde to get anything bigger then an answer to a question and even then he would have to practically bribe the demon.

He felt his lips form a bittersweet smile as he continued to fold, thinking of Bill while Asalie continued to sort...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and please comment! I practically live for comments since they tell me what you guys think! Even if you've commented before, feel free to keep commenting! I will always reply to you as soon as I see your comment. Praise or criticisms or anything between are always welcome! Hell, if you have predictions, I'd especially love to hear those! In fact if you guys have any suggestions, I may even implement them into the fic and give you a shout out~! Basically what I'm saying is I just want to hear back from you guys cause it reassures me that you guys really do enjoy this story. ^~^"
> 
> Anyway, expect the next update as soon as possible!
> 
> -Lumi


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jsyk, a good portion of this chapter is outside of Dipper's POV, giving us a look into how strangers see the young single father. Also, Princesa was amazing and went out of her way to make some fanart of everyone's favorite little half-demon girl, Asalie! Find it at the bottom of the fic!

It was later that same evening when he heard the knock on the door.

He had been preparing the chicken breasts for the oven and looked at the time. 5:30 pm. Strange, he wasn't expecting anyone. It was Miranda's day off from work but she had told him that she would be using the time to catch up on a few chores and books so she wasn't joining them for dinner that night.

The brunette washed his hands clean quickly before hurrying to the door. "Just a moment!" He wasn't afraid of anyone trying to hurt them, they were a quiet family and while a little rusty, he could hold his own in a fight.

He opened the door to reveal a police officer. He frowned a bit in confusion and tipped his head a little. "Good evening, officer. Is there something I can help you with?"

The cop, a shorter, burly man with red curly hair and blue eyes huffed. "Are you the owner of this vehicle?" He jerked a thumb towards Dipper's car, causing Dipper to frown more. "Yes, I bought it about 6 years ago, when I moved into the area. Why?"

"It was reported to been used in the kidnapping of a 6 year old girl today." Dippers eyes widened before he sighed, his hand raising to rub his temples as though he had a migraine. "I swear..." He mutters, sighing again. "I have a six year old daughter but she takes after my deceased partner so she doesn't look like me. She is my biological daughter though, so even if you did DNA testing, you will see that I am her parent. I don't know who called you but I can assure you that I did not kidnap her."

The cop raised an eyebrow. "I'm going to need you both to come to the station for questioning and DNA testing to corroborate your story. It's protocol."

Dipper bit back a retort and a growl, instead he just let out a puff of air and gestured to the kitchen. "Can it wait until after I finish making dinner and feed my daughter? It's not often I can be home to cook for her. You're free to join us for dinner if you'd like, so you don't have to worry about us running off." The red-head rubbed his chin in thought. "Alright, I don't see why not. And if you wouldn't mind, I would like to take up your offer." Dipper nodded with a small smile and stepped aside. "Of course, I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't willing." The cop walked inside and Dipper closed the door behind him, leading him into the living room where he turned to the strange man.

"My name is Tyrone Lambert, by the way." He extended his hand to him.

"James O'Reilly. What is your daughter's name, and where is she?" The officer, James, took his hand and shook it firmly, he rather liked this lad so far. He was rather calm for someone just accused of kidnapping a girl that was his own daughter.

"Asalie, and she's in her room right now, playing. I'll get her if you would like to talk to her while I cook."

"Please." James nodded, waiting in the living room at Tyrone's request while the brunette walked down the hall.

When the cop was alone, he looked around the light blue and grey living room, examining the old furniture that was likely purchased from a yard sale or a salvation army. He noted that the TV was also an older model and the majority of the movies on the shelves of the media center were kids movies, supernatural shows and a few cheesy b-movie horrors. On the walls were photos of Tyrone with a little girl ranging from when she was a few months old to about 6 that indeed looked nothing like him and a few of him with a man that looked like the adult male version of the 6 year old, though the ones of the two men were only taken in the woods and looked like selfies, the two men holding each other close and were obviously in love.

Odd, how did two men have a daughter that had both of their DNA? Tyrone had said that he was Asalie's biological parent but yet she looked like the other man. And why wasn't there any pictures of Tyrone holding her in the hospital or of his partner with Tyrone or Asalie?

He was still wondering this as the brunette appeared, the six year old not yet with him. He noticed James' puzzled expression while he looked at the photos and sighed (he was doing that a lot tonight), walking up beside the older man. "I'm a hermaphrodite, I have a womb but I'm a man." He watched James jump and look a bit sheepish at him.

"Sorry, I don't mean to pry into personal business." Dipper shook his head. "It's fine, I know it's strange and rare. I didn't even know myself that I was one until I became pregnant with Asalie." The redhead nodded, looking a bit contemplative. "I don't want to be rude but... What happened to him? Your partner, I mean." Dipper's face scrunched up with the painful memories. "He was killed... I was a couple months pregnant at the time..."

James' face softened at his words, looking sad for the young family. "I am sorry to hear that... But I must ask, how?" He watched as Tyrone's eyes closed, anger and pain crossing his face as he struggled to keep himself calm, as though the memories were still fresh. "I would rather not say..."

"Understandable. I don't see any hospital photos. Did you not have any taken?" He asked, trying to change subjects. Tyrone shrugged and turned away. "I gave birth on my own." Was all he said before he headed to the kitchen, his posture a little stiff, as though there was a great weight on his shoulders. He returned a few minutes later with a couple of bottles of water, handing one to the cop, who murmured his thanks, feeling a bit guilty for putting the young man through this. He had came here thinking that he would be likely rescuing a little girl, only to find a single father struggling through emotional baggage while raising his child. He doubted that the brunette had any time to do anything for himself.

They stood in silence for a bit before Asalie came scampering from the hall. "Sorry I took so long, Papa!" Tyrone's eyes softened and he knelt down in front of the small girl. "It's ok sweetie, come meet Officer James, he's joining us for dinner tonight and then we're gonna go with him to the police station." She looked up at the stranger, curiosity burning in her blue eyes. "Why are we going with him, Papa?"

Tyrone smiled. "Because he wanted to talk to us and write it down, he's a lot like me, likes to talk to others and learn about them." He watched as the little blond girls eyes widen and she nodded, grinning. "Ok!" She turned to James with such a bright, innocent smile that he already adored her. "My name's Asalie! Papa says he named me that 'cause I was born reeeeaally early in the morning, just before the sun came up!"

The redhead knelt down as Tyrone stood up, excusing himself to the kitchen so he could finish preparing dinner. "Is that so, it's a very pretty name. Do you go to school yet?"

She shook her head, smiling. "I start this year! Papa and I went shopping today for my new things! We don't get to go a lot 'cause Papa has to work a lot, but Miranda plays with me when Papa can't take me to work with him." Miranda? Who is that?

"Who is Miranda?"

"She's my babysitter! Papa calls her Hermana Mayor!" He raised an eyebrow. Wasn't that Spanish for 'big sister'? The brunette didn't look Spanish, but then again he could be wrong. After all, Asalie looked nothing like him.

He talked a bit more with the energetic girl while they waited for dinner, though admittedly she did most of the talking. From her he learned that she had never known any other home being too young to remember that this Miranda had help Tyrone get the house, letting them stay at her home until the papers were finalized. He kinda wished he could meet this kind woman but when he asked about her, he was told she was staying at her house on her day off, so that was why her Papa was cooking today.

She was in the middle of telling him about this new cartoon she had been watching when Tyrone came in with a slightly strained smile. "Asa, go wash up sweetie, dinner's ready."

"Yes, Papa!" The bundle of energy scampered down the hall to the bathroom, her blond curls bouncing as she went, leaving the two grown men to stand in awkward silence. After a moment, the brunette sighs. "Forgive me for my rudeness, my past is... a sensitive subject. I haven't even told Miranda about it and she is like my sister." Ah so that's what it she was, just a close friend, rather then an actual sibling.

James nodded in understanding. "I can respect that. A man's business is his own, you don't have to talk about it since it won't be necessary in my report. I didn't mean to pry, it was more of a morbid curiosity then anything. I used to work for the NYPD before I decided that I needed a change of pace, so I guess I've become a bit numb to death. I've seen just about everything, really." He let out a dry chuckle, thinking back to some of the crime scenes he's come across and the victims and their families he's talked to. He was numbed for sure by now. He still felt for them but he couldn't afford to give much sympathy after being exposed to such horrors for so long.

Tyrone glanced at him, his eyes filled with an understanding that he hasn't seen in a long time. What was this man's past that he could understand his lack of empathy for death? They returned to silence, but this time the tension was a little less. Once Asalie returned from the bathroom, Tyrone nodded to him that he could go wash up as well. Not wanting to be rude, he walks down the hall, looking at the pictures on the walls as he did. The walls themselves were more of a green-grey in the halls versus the living room and the pictures here were hand made paintings and drawings, some obviously made by Asalie from the common children's art elements, stick figure people, cotton ball clouds, simple colors with no blending. Adorable and surprisingly well made for a 6 year old, though.

But the others were something that he could compare to pieces he's seen in art museums, drawings and paintings of forest scenes along with real and mythical beasts alike. As he looked, he noticed that there was always a little triangle with a slit-pupil eye incorporated somewhere in the art, usually in the background, unnoticeable until you looked at enough of them.

He reached the open bathroom door but he noticed that there was a door open at the end of the hall. He glanced down the hall and didn't see Tyrone or his daughter. Curiosity getting the better of him, he walked to the door and peeked inside, finding a dark blue bedroom. He looked back again before slipping inside the bedroom. Inside the room was more art pieces, mostly unfinished. He looks around. There was a full sized bed underneath the window on the far wall, a cheap night table sat beside the bed on one side with a single lamp on top, a blue-leather bound book with a silver Pine Tree embossed on the front. There was a bookshelf on the wall next to the single night table, its shelves stuffed to the brim with books and knickknacks and oddities, some teeth in a jar, a shrunken head, some crystals and a few other things. The morbid display wasn't really a surprise considering some of the art pieces.

On the wall opposite the bookshelf was a desk and an easel with what seemed to be the current art piece that Tyrone was working on set on its stand, it was a painting of the triangle he kept noticing before in the backgrounds of his other works, but this time it had more detail. It looked like the All Seeing Eye that conspiracy theorists loved to rave about, but it was a bright, almost obnoxious yellow with black brickwork lines on the lower half, and it had a bow tie as well as a top hat, a cane and noodle thin black arms and legs dangling almost comedically from the triangle body. Around it was an set of circles with symbols around it. The symbols weren't yet done and it looked like he was going to add a background. He scratched his chin, wondering why the young man was so obsessed with what was probably the Eye.

Before he could look around more, he heard Tyrone calling for him and he panicked a little before slipping out of the room and into the bathroom. He closed the door silently and flushed the toilet, as though he had been using it, before actually washing his hands and leaving. He didn't really get a chance to look around the bathroom, but noticed that the tiles were a lemon yellow and the walls were a plain grey, contrasting the yellow and preventing it from becoming overwhelming, and the fixtures were black. He took a breath before leaving the room, his hands washed and dried. He walked back down the hall, rejoining Tyrone and Asalie.

He failed to notice that his host's eyes were narrowed at him in suspicion as he sat down at the table...

 

/\/\/\

 

 

TYSM Princesa~! <3

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! I hoped you enjoyed this slightly longer chapter! We got to see how others see Dipper, even though he's a loving father.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! I swear I haven't abandoned this fic! I just been so busy lately, first finals came up and then my 21st birthday and more recently, my parents and I (yes I still live with my parents) spent the last two weeks trying to go away on vacation to SOMEWHERE, but the weather just would NOT cooperate. Everywhere we tried to go had rain and thunderstorms. But even though we never went anywhere, we kept trying to set things up so I was too busy to really sit down and write this.
> 
> Well that's not completely true, I DID have this chapter almost done WEEKS ago but the damn site spazzed on me and I lost everything. Q~Q Seriously, I hadn't saved it on docs or anything because I was intending to upload it immediately (which is what I always do. Tbh I never edit these things before I post them. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ )
> 
> So here I am now, apologizing for having taken forever and a half to update this fic. Any who, I have an announcement to make too! But! You'll have to wait until the end of this update to read it.
> 
> So enjoy this slightly longer then normal chapter as an apology!
> 
> -Lumi

Dipper sighs in annoyance as he carries a sleeping Asalie out of the police station, following James back to his police cruiser so they could go home. They had kept them for 3 HOURS! It was after 10 at night! Asa should have been in bed more than an hour ago! But noooo, they just HAD to keep asking them basically the same questions over and over again while they were waiting for someone to come and take DNA samples to send to the lab. He was lucky he had been able to alter the samples with his magic so that it looked like he had an extra X chromosome and Asalie's DNA just looked normal, hiding her demonic parentage.

He buckled her into the back seat of the cruiser before climbing in beside her, pointedly ignoring James' apologetic looks. He heard a sigh from the older man before he had closed the door. A moment later, the cop was in the driver's seat and turning on the car. While the redhead pulled out of the parking spot and began the drive back, Dipper let the car remain silent. Instead he chose to reminisce on the date he and Bill had been on when he had told him about demonic DNA.

It had been late in the afternoon on a midsummer day, Dipper was about a month or so into his pregnancy. They were cuddling under a tree on top of the cliffs above the falls, looking out on the sleepy town that rested, unaware, of the UFO that had crash landed there millions of years ago. The sun was at that angle of its descent where the world was turned golden under its rays. It made things feel like they were is a fairy tale, like he and Bill could return to the Shack where they would be welcomed back by the human's family. Soos and Melody would be cooking dinner, Mabel would hug both of them tightly at the door, asking about their date and pestering them about if they had picked names yet. Ford would be asking Bill more about how the pregnancy worked and about demonic breeding habits, always trying to learn more about Bill's species, and Stan would be at the register, counting that day's profits and setting aside some of it to help pay for the baby supplies. He would be grumbling about it but everyone knew he was just as excited for the baby as everyone else was.

They would talk until dinner was ready and then they would join Soos and his wife at the table, the house having gone through some renovation and additions to fit the growing family. They would laugh and joke, teasing Bill and Dipper about having a kid before Soos and Melody despite the latter being married and together longer. They would all brainstorm baby names until it got late and dinner was finished before everyone retreated to do their own things.

Stan would go to the living room to watch his "Old Lady" shows with Ford, who had become a fan of them as well. Mabel would go off with Melody to make more baby clothes, the older woman having been recruited for her ability to reign in Mabel's more eccentric ideas that wouldn't be baby-friendly. Soos would go around the Shack to make sure the garbage cans were gnome-proofed and the house and shop were locked up properly against intruders, both supernatural and mundane. (They still were wondering who had spray painted the gift shop last Autumn.) Lastly, Bill and Dipper would take a relaxing shower together, exchanging chaste, loving kisses while they did. They would get dried off and dressed in loose clothing before curling up in bed together, Bill drawing invisible triangles on Dipper's belly while they talked about different things, from things about the baby to about the universe to what they should do tomorrow.

After awhile, they would fall asleep together and retreat to Dipper's Dreamscape where Bill would teach him more magic.

His fairy tale ended as the gold disappeared, the sun sliding behind the horizon. Dipper turned away from the view to look up at his lover, admiring his dark features in the fading light. Glowing blue eyes met his chocolate brown ones, a smirk tugging dark lips up in one corner. "Something I can help you with, Pine Tree?"

Dipper blushed a little and twiddled his thumbs together. "I was hoping you would explain how demonic DNA works. You never really explained that part before, when you told me about how I got pregnant."

The demon hummed, tipping his head back as he arranged his thoughts. "Well to put it simply, demons don't really have DNA, at least in the way that humans do. We have something that can be attributed to as DNA but it's not exactly the same thing. If my species wants to reproduce with another species, we need to have a form that matches the species we want to breed with. So if I had sex with you in my true form, I wouldn't be able to impregnate you because our species are too different. But since you helped me get a human body by getting me human DNA, I mixed that human DNA with my own to make this body, which I then possessed. Technically this vessel is human but only just enough so that I can inhabit it and still be able to access my powers. And apparently human enough that I impregnated you." He leans down and presses a kiss to his cheek, the hand on Dipper's belly rubbing his skin a little.

"So what about our baby? Will they have to do something like that if they want to have kids when they're full grown?"

"Mmm, not exactly. The thing about half-breeds is that they can only breed with demons, their non-demon parent's species, other half-breeds or a species that is directly related to their non-demon parent's species. Like how I can shapeshift into anything or any species I want, so long as I have a DNA sample of it. A half-breed like our baby will be, obviously, half human. So they will only ever be able to, unless it's one of their specialties, shapeshift into animals that are related to humans. Like apes, felines, lizards, amphibians, etc. Actually this is how familiars are created, a half-breed shapeshifts into an animal, like say a house cat, and mates with a cat, those kittens and any of their descendants will be familiars for magic users. Though familiars are limited to take on human or their one animal form."

"Wait, you mean familiars are really part demon? That... actually explains a lot." He murmurs, cuddling closer to his lover as the blonde began to press kisses into his neck, hands gently massaging his belly and sides since it was starting to get colder now that the stars were beginning to appear, the sun all but gone from the sky save for a few stubborn rays of light.

"Mhmm, it's why cats were so hated in the colonial days, since most bonded familiars were felines in those days. It's a shame, really. Many of them were very intelligent, but their bond forced them to remain with their masters which led to their own death. The witch hunts are the main reason why so few familiars exist today. The few half-breeds there were, were afraid to create more since they didn't want their descendants to suffer like that again, and most surviving familiars stayed in hiding and refused to bond with what magic users there were left. It was a domino effect really. But now that magic is slowly returning to the world, maybe things will change."

"Maybe... Is that why I don't have a familiar though? Because there are so few left?"

Bill shrugged, pulling him closer. "Partially. Mostly because you have me and I don't want to share."

The brunette chuckles at his words, finding the demon's possessiveness endearing. "I suppose I'm ok with that, after all. I have you to keep me entertained." He felt the demon's light glare on the back of his head, making his smile grow.

Dipper was jolted from his memory as the cruiser pulled into his driveway, making him bite back another sigh. He knew holding onto the past wasn't healthy, but it was the only thing that kept him going beside Asalie. He unbuckled himself and his daughter before carefully climbing out of the car, tiny blonde in his arms once more. He closed the car door as quietly as possible and quietly thanked James for the ride before heading towards the front door of his home.

James called to him softly. "I'm really sorry about tonight. The DNA results should be in in a few days but I doubt you'll be called back into the station."

He looked back at the cop, mildly impressed at how efficient DNA testing had gotten these days. "Thanks, have a safe trip James." With that, he unlocked the door and walked inside, the door closing and locking itself behind him on its own with a touch of his magic. He carried Asalie to her bedroom after kicking off his shoes. There, he changed her into her pjs and tucked her in with a kiss to her birthmark. Hopefully she wouldn't be too grumpy in the morning, since they were supposed to go and have a meet and greet with her teacher tomorrow morning, at 10 am.

For the coiled bundle of energy she was, she needed plenty of sleep (about 10 hours) or else she was a grumpy little girl all day.

He put her clothes in the laundry basket and her shoes next to his own by the front door before making his rounds, making sure the house was locked up and the wards against intruders were still strong. That done, he walked into the bathroom and stripped off his clothes, turning on the shower so the water could warm up while he grabbed towels from the linen closet. He sighs and climbed in the shower after making sure the water was hot enough. He felt his body relax underneath the stream, the stress of the day melting away from his muscles.

After a minute or so of enjoying the heat, he grabbed his shampoo and squirted some into his hand, backing out of the stream enough to knead the soap into his soaked curls. He numbly thought to himself that he would need a haircut soon as he rinsed the suds out, picking up his body wash and washcloth. He squeezed some onto the cloth before lightly scrubbing his body clean, relaxing more as he finished and rinsed off, standing under the shower head. He almost wished he could stay there but he knew he had to get out, mostly because he couldn't afford the water bill if he took too long. So he reluctantly shut off the water and grabbed his body towel, dabbing himself dry most of the way before stepping out of the tub/shower. He wrapped the towel around his waist and tossed his dirty clothes in the laundry basket as he left the bathroom and walked down to his bedroom.

He set out some nice clothes for the next day and dried off the rest of the way before tugging on a pair of boxers and a t-shirt. He hung the towel up to air dry before setting down at his easel, flicking on the light before grabbing his paints. Setting an alarm for midnight and putting on his favorite music playlist, he set his phone down to the side. Dipper smiles at the half finished wheel on his canvas, a fingertip delicately touching Bill for a moment before he opened his paints and grabbed a clean paintbrush. He set himself to work on the painting, listening to the songs that reminded him of him and Bill, a bittersweet smile on his lips.

He hardly noticed the time passing while he painted, focused solely on his work. He had finished the symbols and wheel and was working on the background when his alarm went off. He pouted a little as he stopped his painting to clean up and turning off the light. He would have finished it if he hadn't been forced to go to the police station, he thought bitterly. Instead, he was forced to put this off again as he stood up and stretched, cracking the window open a little to help air out the smell of paint before climbing into bed.

He curled up in his blanket, looking at the other side of his bed sullenly. What he wouldn't give to have Bill back. He wiped at his eyes angrily as tears threatened to fall, there was no point in crying anymore. He couldn't bring Bill back and crying wouldn't do anything but leave his eyes puffy and red and his throat swollen and sore. His heart continued to ache though, no matter how much he told himself he needed to move on. He rolled over and plugged his phone in before setting the playlist to go again, tugging his blankets up to his chin and closing his eyes to sleep.

Dipper slowly fell asleep to the music, not noticing the tears falling as he did.

/\/\/\

On the other side of town, a young woman paced the floor of her motel room anxiously.

What the hell was she should she do? She had seen Dipper at the mall with the little girl and had felt her blood run cold. After all these years, she had finally managed to track him down, intending on bringing him home and now she finds him with a 6 year old girl that looked like the spitting image of that demon. Was this why he had left? But how the hell did he...? Well she guessed magic was involved but she just couldn't comprehend it. Damn it, this complicated things.

She ran a hand through her brunette hair as she debated with herself what she should do. She still had to bring Dipper home to the Falls but with a kid, he would be even more difficult to convince. Should she contact Ford first? A hand slowly reached for the phone in her pants pocket before she shook her head. No, not yet. She would confront Dipper first and try to persuade him to come back, if he refused then she would call Ford and tell him. For now she had to figure out what was going on. She should find out soon enough if the girl was Dipper's, the anonymous tip giving her the access she needed to have a DNA test run. She could hack into the police records easily enough, thanks to Ford's program, so now she just needed to be patient and wait a few days for the results to come in.

If this girl was really Dipper's kid, that meant that she was her niece... She wasn't sure how she fell about that. After all, that meant she had been partially responsible for the death of that little girl's other parent, which could end badly if she had magic AND a temper like that demon's. Things just could never be easy for this family, could it?

First Ford drags a handcuffed Dipper and a rather attractive and slowly bleeding out man from the woods, looking absolutely furious. Then she's told that the man was really Bill Cipher in a human body and he had caught Dipper and him meeting and KISSING, that Dipper was brainwashed by Bill. That the only way to break the spell over Dipper was to kill Bill in front of him and had Mabel chain Dipper to the basement wall while Ford made the devil's trap and Stan guarded the still-bleeding demon, all ignoring Dipper's pleas to stop, that Bill had changed.

As IF the demon could change, really.

After the deed was done, they had thought that things would go back to normal. Dipper seemed to be ok, a little sad but he had told them they had been right, that Bill had cast a spell on him at the beginning of the summer. They had comforted him and relaxed, believing things would be ok.

But then one morning, a few days later, they had awoken to find Dipper was gone. Most of his things had gone with him and a note was left behind saying that they had been wrong, he was never brainwashed and that Bill HAD changed. That he couldn't bear to live with the people who had killed the man he loved, let alone call them family. He told them to not look for him because he never wanted anything to do with them again, that they could burn in their hell with the knowledge that they had driven him away and that they would suffer for it.

As he had proclaimed, their lives had grown much more difficult after he had left. As though a curse was placed upon them, tourists stopped coming to the Shack and they seemed to have nothing but bad luck for months. The Shack had closed, having run out of money, and the family had run on hard times, surviving mostly on Ford's inventions and hunting skills as well as Stan's horde of money that he had slowly been saving up.

Once their bad luck seemed to slowly go away, Ford had set her up to start looking for Dipper, thinking that maybe now that some time had past, he may be ready to talk. They missed him and were still sure that he was just angry over nothing, that Bill's spell probably just lingered for some time even after his death and Dipper was just too proud to come back on his own.

And so she had set out on her search, following Dipper's trail. It had taken her 6 years, but she had finally found him. Now she just had to convince him to come home, child or not, she would not let him go again.

Mabel Pines looked at the digital clock/radio on the night table next to her motel bed. 12:30 am. She should get to sleep if she was going to follow her twin around town all day tomorrow...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, as promised, here is the announcement!
> 
> I am going to start writing an Ancient Egyptian AU BillDip fic! I'll be updating it alternatively with this fic, so don't worry! I'm on summer vacation rn so I'll hopefully be able to update more regularly.
> 
> As a tease, here's the summary I have for it so far:
> 
> Dipper is being forced to marry his Great Uncle Ford because he was in too deep of debt. With no other family to help him, he goes to the Temple of Nut, the sky goddess. He had always felt a deep connection to the goddess and he hoped maybe if he made her an offering, she would give him a way out of this damnable marriage to old man. Anything would be better than that, even if he became a slave for the temple.
> 
> Bill's wife and Queen is dead, leaving him with two young daughters. Not wanting to listen to his vizier and marry one of them, as was custom, so he could produce a male heir, he wanders around by the Nile, hoping for an answer. When he returned, one of his High Priestesses comes to him with an Omen, that he needs to seek and marry a man blessed by the stars or his kingdom will suffer. He sends out his soldiers with orders to find any men that could possibly match this description.
> 
> ((As a note, intermarriage was a common practice not just among the royal family, but also commoners as well.))


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all are gonna hate me for this chapter. XD
> 
> Also this chapter is a little shorter then I was hoping for but I need to focus on the AE AU fic for a bit so I didn't want to leave you guys with nothing.
> 
> Enjoy the pain!

The next morning proved to be an exhausting one for the single father.

He had gotten up at 7 am, gotten dressed in nice blue jeans and a red plaid button up and started to make breakfast before going to wake up Asa. As he had feared, she was a little grumpy. She only cheered up a little when she came out of her room to the smell of chocolate chip pancakes. She sat at the table, still in her pjs, and Dipper placed a plate towering with her favorite breakfast along with a tall glass of lemonade.

Her papa placed a kiss into her sleep-ruffled curls which tugged a small giggle up from her throat. “Thank you Papa.” He smiles at her as he sat across from her with his own plate.

“You’re welcome, sweetie. Are you excited to meet your teacher today?”

She nodded, her normal enthusiasm slowly returning as she grabbed the bottle of maple syrup. “What was his name again, Papa?”

Dipper smiles and taps his chin, pretending to think about it even though he knew it well. It was an unusual name after all. “His name is Basar Khnurn, but remember he’s Mr. Khnurn when you talk to him.” At her nod, he continued. “He’s a newer teacher at your school so remember to behave for him unless he does something to hurt you or touch you in an inappropriate place.”

“I know Papa.” She pours the syrup onto her pancakes before passing it over to her papa. She eagerly began to cut into her pancakes to make bite size pieces. “Papa, are you sure I can’t show others my magic? It’d be cool!” She looked up at him hopefully.

He sighs and shakes his head. “No Asa, you know I already told you, you couldn’t.”

“But whyyy?” She pouted at him.

“Because most people can’t do real magic like you and I can and if kids go home to tell their parents about a girl who could move things without touching it or make fire out of nothing, then the parents will be worried about their kids’ safety and want something done about it.” It was the truth, but he didn’t tell her that the parents would probably think their kids were making it up at first.

Asalie looked down at her plate, feeling sullen. Dipper rolled his eyes, feeling sympathetic for her but still a little exasperated. “I’m sorry sweetie, but we can’t risk people finding out about us. Humans are paranoid, that means they don’t trust things that they don’t understand. That especially goes for magic users. They’re scared of us because we can do things that they can’t.”

She nods slowly, her words barely heard. “Yes Papa…” He frowns, not meaning to make her upset. He got up and walked around the table, kneeling next to her and pulled her into a hug.

“I’m sorry baby, I know you’re excited to learn and to play with other kids but we need to be careful. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you like what happened to your father…” He trailed off a moment before shaking his head and hugging her closer. “Come on, Asa. Cheer up, you’re going to meet your teacher today remember? And your pancakes are getting cold.” The well-prioritized 6 year old perked up at the mention of her favourite breakfast and kissed her papa’s cheek before gently shooing him away so she can eat, making him smile.

He kissed the top of her head before returning to his chair to dig into his own breakfast, watching her while he ate.

/\/\/\

After breakfast was finished and the dishes were washed, Dipper helped Asalie take a bath before letting her pick out her outfit for the day. It was cooler today but still rather warm so she chose a black skirt with bright yellow stockings and a light blue blouse with yellow flowers and buttons. He helped her get dressed and brushed out her blonde curls before helping her put on a yellow bow tie.

Dipper glanced at the time and saw it was almost 9:15. They still had time before they had to go, so he made himself a pot of coffee. He sipped on a mug while he went over a few magic practices with Asalie, having her light her hands in her unique yellow and blue flames and make them grow and shrink at different rates in either hand.

She was doing pretty well so far when his alarm went off. 9:30 am. Time to get going. He walked Asalie out of the house with a thermos of coffee, locking up behind them. He got her buckled into her seat and kissed her nose, making her giggle and cheering her up a little more.

He settled into the driver seat, started the car and pulled out of their driveway, beginning the drive to the elementary school.

Unbeknownst to father and daughter, Mabel followed them at a safe distance in her own car.

/\/\/\

They reached the school at about 9:50 am, held up by traffic to Dipper’s chagrin. He parked the car near the school and quickly herded Asalie inside, looking at the piece of paper with the room number of the classroom where Mr. Khnurn’s class would be. Room 328.

After a bit of wandering, they found the room and the brunette knocked on the closed door. The sound of someone rising from a swivel chair could be heard and a few moments later the door opened to reveal-

Dipper’s heart stopped.

A man that looked identical to Bill’s human body stood in the doorway.

He was wearing a dark blue button up that complimented his eyes and black dress slacks. His blonde hair was styled to look like he’d just woken up but he pulled it off somehow and made it look good. He smiled -oh gods his smile was the same too- and opened his mouth, speaking something, but the sound of his heart restarting and pounding in his chest drowned out the words.

Dipper felt a tugging on his hand and he slowly came out of his stupor to look down at Asalie who looked up at him in confusion and worry before returning his attention to the now concerned Not-Bill’s face. “I-I’m sorry I didn’t catch that…” He felt his face slowly flush in embarrassment as he realized he had stood there gaping at Not-Bill like an idiot. The man’s face softened a little and he smirked before speaking again.

“Jeez I know I’m hot but I didn’t expect to be gawked at like you’ve seen a ghost.” His voice was full of amusement, teasing Dipper without any real bite to his words. The brunette blushed deeper. “I’m sorry but I thought… Nevermind. I’m Tyrone Lambert, this is my daughter Asalie. Are you Mr. Basar Khnurn?”

He saw curiosity light up in the man’s eyes before a hand was held out to him. “That I am, a pleasure to meet you. May I call you Tyrone?” Dipper nodded and took the hand, intending to shake it but instead found it being raised up to Basar’s lips, a kissed placed on the back of his palm with a wink. He felt his blush spread to his ears now.

Basar grins and gently let go of Dipper’s hand to turn his attention to Asalie, who was watching their exchange with confusion and curiosity. She’d never seen her papa react like that before.

“Asalie, right? It is wonderful to meet you.” He smiles warmly at the 6 year old, distracting her from her thoughts as she smiles back. “It’s nice to meet you too, Mr. Khnurn!”

The blonde smiles and gestures for them to come inside, closing the door behind them once they entered the room.

The classroom was a large room with about 20 or so desks with attached chairs and cubby holes for books and supplies. The walls were mostly bare for now save for a few little kid-style summer pictures like a cartoon sun and beach things with smiley faces. There were even a few on the wall of windows that looked out onto the tree-covered hills behind the school. A few quark boards were scattered around, ready for art projects of a bunch of kindergartners. At the back of the room was a long counter where supplies were already sitting out and on one end was an empty cage, meant for the class pet. At the front of the room was a whiteboard and a set of pull-down maps and charts. Above was a projector that hooked up to the laptop that sat on Basar’s desk. Speaking of the desk, it was a large thing that was practically covered in knicknacks already. Behind the desk was a comfortable-looking swivel chair and in front of it sat two padded chairs that were probably only there for days like this.

Basar sat in his chair while Dipper and Asalie sat in the padded chairs across from him. He smiles at them. “So! Let’s get down to the nitty gritty so we can move on to the more fun questions!”

Dipper nodded and asked the teacher about the class schedule, snack time, lunch, recess, etc. The blonde was more than happy to tell them about it, going on to discuss how he brought in snacks everyday for kids who didn’t or couldn’t bring any of their own, taking allergies into account, and that he allowed his students to stay inside at recess if they didn’t want to go outside, though he encouraged them to do so. They talked about the curriculum a little and Basar asked about Asalie’s skill level to which Dipper proudly told him of her proficiency.

She smiles, blushing at his praise, and Basar smiles too, telling them he looked forward to seeing how she does. He told them about his reward system, that students who do well would get to choose prizes from a chest at the end of each week and that students who needed extra help were offered to spend the afternoon with him for one on one tutoring.

They continued to talk about the basic things for awhile before they finally got onto more personal topics. Basar told them about how he had grown up in Cairo, Egypt and moved to the US with his parents when he was 12. That he was currently 27 and that he had been working at the school for the past 3 years. He had graduated and gotten his bachelor's degree when he was 23 and had been certified almost a year later.

When he asked about Tyrone’s past, the brunette had been hesitant and told him the basics. He had grown up in California and only had a High School degree since he had to take care of Asalie on his own. He was 25 and worked full time at the cafe near the elementary school. When he didn’t say more, Basar wisely decided not to pry and instead began to ask Asalie to tell him about herself. She more than happily obliged, bursting with excitement as she told him about her hobbies and favorite shows and that she was excited to start school.

By the time they finished, it was well after noon. They had lost track of time, just chatting away like a trio of starlings on a summer morning. As they stood, Basar smoothly asked for Dipper’s contact information, claiming that it was for in case of an emergency or if Asalie was sick or having trouble, they could reach each other.

Not so easily fooled, Dipper knew that the blonde man was only being partially honest with his reasoning. He was more than aware he shouldn’t try to go down this path but yet he masochistically complied, smiling with a faint blush as he exchanged phone numbers and even emails with Basar. With that done, they were walked to the door with Basar placing another kiss on the back of Dipper’s palm as they said their farewells.

Heart stuttering in his chest, he bid the teacher goodbye and had to willfully force himself not to run or even throw himself at the attractive man. The similarities Bill, the flirting especially, was killing him. He knew that Basar couldn’t be doing it on purpose but it felt like the universe was playing a cruel trick on him. Dangling an identical man before him, so close and yet untouchable. He could never truly have anything with him that wouldn’t just be unfair to them both.

Insensibly, he walked Asalie out of the school and to the car, mutely nodding to whatever words she was saying. He reflexively placed a kiss on her head after he buckled her into her carseat before getting into the driver seat once more. They sat there for a few minutes while Dipper collected enough of his unsettled mind to ask Asalie what she wanted for lunch, hoping she asked for something cheap and easy like a sandwich.  
Luckily for him, she had noticed his odd behavior and decided maybe something easy would be a better choice for lunch. “What about mac and cheese?” She didn’t know what was wrong though, only that he’d been acting weird ever since they first saw Mr. Khnurn.

Dipper could have laughed and maybe even cried in relief at her request. That is, if most of his shell-shocked brain wasn’t still frozen while it tried to process things, he would have. He was so used to making mac and cheese by now that it was practically a second nature and he could let his brain turn off for a bit while he worked.

Starting the car, his slowed brain failed to register that his twin sister was watching them from close by in her own car...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first one who figures out the significance of the teacher's name and the room number, and why I chose them, you'll get a shout out in the next update!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so I checked the fic at around 1am a few days ago and I was so psyched to see that it’s reached 1700 hits and 130 kudos!!! Ahhhhhhh! You guys are all so amazing!!! So as a thanks, I’m adding this chapter early! Thank you all for your support! Enjoy this chapter! (I know I did)

It was three days later that the word came in.

Dipper was in the middle of the morning rush when his phone began to vibrate in his pocket. He cursed internally but kept a pleasant smile on his face as he took the customer’s order. He wrote it down and turned to begin making it, nodding to a coworker of his, Daniel, a brunette trans male with the greenest eyes he’s ever seen. He was 23 and had tanned skin with some freckles crossing the bridge of his nose and was currently on his 5th month of testosterone, though he was still wearing a binder and was a little curvy.

Daniel nodded back and took Dipper’s place at the register once he had given the customer their order. He slipped into the back where it was less noisy and pulled out his phone, answering it just before it went to voicemail. “Tyrone Lambert speaking, who is this?”

“Ah good, I thought you might not answer. Hello Tyrone, this is Officer James O’Reilly. I just wanted to let you know that the DNA results came in and they show that you are Asalie’s… Well Mother, I guess you could say in this case. My superiors have decided to take your side and not press any charges or order any further investigation.”

Dipper let out a sigh of relief. “Oh thank goodness… Thank you for letting me know, James. Sorry to cut this short, but it’s the breakfast rush at the cafe so I really need to get back to work.”

“Of course. Have a good day, Tyrone.”

“You too.” With that, he hung up the call and let out another sigh of relief, sagging a little as the weight of that particular worry lifted from him. After a moment to let that soak in, he put his phone back in his pocket and returned to the front. His customer-service smile returning to his lips as he joins Daniel at the registers to help alleviate some of the influx.

/\/\/\

Around noon, the torrent of people slowed to a trickle, allowing the exhausted employees a chance to breathe. Dipper leaned back against the counter where the registers sat with a soft groan. He had grabbed a bottle of water from the mini fridge for the workers and cracked it open, taking a long swig before releasing it with a small gasp, having downed almost a third of it already. Daniel leaned against the counter next to him.

“So what was that call about?” He cracked open his own bottle of water, taking a sip.

“Mmm… Well some jackass called the police on me on Friday while I was out with Asalie, claiming that I had kidnapped her. I had to go in with Asalie for questioning and so they could take DNA samples to prove she was my daughter. They just got the results back and the cop that brought me in, nice guy really, called me to let me know that the DNA matched and they wouldn’t press for anything more.”

The younger man winced in sympathy. “Damn, that sucks. I’m glad everything worked out though. Who does that though? Call in on a parent and their child?”

“Either someone who thought it would be funny, or someone who thought that just because I don’t look like my child, I must be a kidnapper, most likely.” He grumbles, taking another sip of his drink. He was still peeved by the event, though he had mostly been distracted by thoughts of Asalie’s teacher. The man was identical to Bill’s human body and he just couldn’t figure out why.

He was continuing to chat when the bell above the main door dinged. Dipper put on a smile and turned to greet the customer when he froze in place.

“M-mabel?”

His twin sister stood near the door. She smiles at him. “Hey Bro Bro, long time no see.”

Dipper began to back away. “N-no! What are you doing here?! To ruin my life again?!”

Daniel watched in concern and went to place a hand on his shoulder but Tyrone flinched away, this ‘Mabel’ (his sister?) approaching. “Dipper you’re being ridiculous. Come on, we need to talk about this like we used to.”

“NO! Get out of here, Mabel! I’ve finally made a life for myself and you’re just going to ruin it again!” He turned away from the female brunette and began to leave, calling to Daniel that he was taking the rest of the day off. Daniel watched in shocked concern as his friend stormed out of the cafe. Tyrone NEVER took a day off without being forced to. He turned to ‘Mabel’, his eyes wide.

“What the hell did you do to him?” He watched her face scrunch up. “Our family tried to protect him from an evil guy and he hates us for it. Great, now I need to go to his house.” She turned and walked out of the cafe, leaving the building’s few occupants quiet with shock at the dramatic scene.

/\/\/\

Dipper’s heart was pounding in his chest as he hurried home. With any luck, Mabel had no idea about Asalie or where he lived and he could take her and run. They couldn’t stay here now, not if Mabel had found them. 6 years down the drain! Damnit! She had to choose NOW of all fucking times! He had made a life for himself from scratch, provided a stable home and life for his daughter single handedly, and here comes Mabel, ready to fuck him over again!

He cursed as he pulled into his driveway and hurried out of the car, racing to his door. He opened it and went inside, closing the door behind him. “ASA PACK UP, WE’RE LEAVING!” He called to her and ran into his room, grabbing his suitcase from under his bed. He tossed it open onto his bed and began to use his magic to pack things into it, the clothes, knicknacks, books and art supplies easily fitting into the enchanted suitcase. He only paused when he heard Miranda walk in, turning to see her concerned face.

“Mi hermano, what is going on? Why are you packing your things?”

Dipper felt his heart clench at the thought of leaving her so suddenly, when she had done so much for him and his daughter. “My past has finally caught up to me. My sister, one of the people who killed Bill, found me. I need to leave with Asalie before she tries to drag us back to the Falls.”

“O-oh…” He had told her that Bill had died, but never how or why. “Does she have magic too? Is that why you don’t just stand up against her?”

“She didn’t before but I have no idea what Ford has been up to. It’s been 7 years since I fled and I won’t risk it. I have no idea if she’s aware of Asalie’s existence or if she told our Great Uncles that she’s found me. All I know that if Ford gets to me, I will never be free again. I’m sorry, but I can’t stay here. Please, help Asalie pack her things. Her suitcase will hold everything that she needs.” When the Mexican woman reluctantly nodded and turned to leave, Dipper returned to his packing.

He grabbed a third suitcase and went through the closets and the other rooms, starting to pack up the pictures by safely wrapping them in towels and blankets before setting them in the suitcase. He paused as he took the picture of him and Bill on their 2nd anniversary down from the wall, his heart aching with fresh pain.

In the photo, Bill was cutting a small cake he had made himself, azure eyes alight with laughter as Dipper teased him about how crappy the cake looked, the frosting patchy and looking runny and the cake lumpy and misshapen. But despite its appearance, the cake had been delicious, the best he’d ever tasted. He had initially chalked it up to Bill using some kind of weird alien ingredients but the demon had told him that he had only used the normal ingredients. That he had tried and tried, learning to do it himself rather than just stealing one or making one with magic. That when he finally gotten it right, flavorwise, he had been too excited that he barely thought about how it looked.

Dipper’s heart had melted at how much effort Bill had put into learning to do something the hard way. That here was this all powerful dream demon, older than the universe the human called home; who had been hellbent on conquering it until a 12 year old human and his family defeated him, trapping him in stone and cutting him off from most of his power, now put a lot of hard work into learning something so trivial, just to impress his human lover.

Needless to say, that was the night that Asalie was conceived.

He was about to put the photo away when there was a knock on his door. He froze, the hold he had on the photo tightening enough that he heard the glass creak in warning that it was about to break. He set it down and slowly approached the door. He opened the door slowly and saw Mabel.

He slammed the door shut.

“GET OUT OF HERE, MABEL! YOU’VE ALREADY RUINED MY LIFE AGAIN, NOW YOU WANT TO RUB IT IN?!”

“Dipper Pines open this door!”

“Fuck off! That’s not my name anymore!”

“I am not leaving until you open this damn door and talk to me like an adult!”

He was about to reply when Miranda placed a hand on his shoulder and murmured to him. “Mi hermano, just talk to her… You can leave after she does, but she’s making a scene out there and you’ll never get away quietly in such a small town if you’re the biggest gossip right now.”

The brunette hesitated before murmuring. “... Keep Asalie down the hall. I don’t want Mabel to see her if she doesn’t know about her.”

The young woman nods, her black locks swaying a little in front of her dark eyes. Once she was down the hall, Dipper turned to the door and reluctantly opened it. Mabel looked back at him.

Now that he took the moment to actually look at her, he saw she was wearing a thin, light purple sweater that was surprisingly bare of decorations, save for some sparkles, along with with some jean shorts. Her curly brown hair reaching to her waist. Dipper glared at her. “Fine. We’ll talk. But I am NOT going back to the Falls.”

He turned away from her and walked back towards the living room, letting Mabel close the door behind her as she walked inside. He sat down on his armchair and gestured for her to sit across from him on the couch. After a few moments of awkward silence, Mabel broke the silence, her words freezing his blood. “I know about your daughter.”

Dipper growls at her. “You will leave her out of this. I will not let you ruin her life anymore then you already have by taking her father away before she was even born.”

“So she IS the demon’s… How the hell did that even happen?” He winced a little at having revealed that.

“Not that you’ll believe me, but I got pregnant with her because demons can only breed with someone they truly love.” He sat back in his chair, glaring at her, daring her to comment. Which she did.

“Let me guess, that’s what HE told you? Didn’t you think that might just have been a LIE?”

“Bill didn’t lie to me! You don’t understand because you never have truly been in LOVE with someone. You only ever had fleeting romances with strange men simply because they LOOKED cute! I got to know Bill and he got to know me, and we fell in love. I still love him and I still mourn him, I’ve had to raise my daughter by myself, had to give birth on my own, because you let Ford kill the man I loved.” He hisses at her.

“You chose FORD over your own TWIN. You decided that I couldn’t possibly love a changed man, that someone like Bill could have loved me enough to WANT to change, to have put effort into learning things by hand, to give up his own dream just so he could be with me.”

“Dipper he was a DEMON! There’s no way a DEMON could change!”

“Yeah like you would know! You just know EVERYTHING about demons, I should have known that! Oh how wrong I was to doubt you, Queen of Demon Lore!” His voice dripped in sarcasm.

The twins just continued to get louder as they argued, until finally Asalie burst into the room and launched herself at her Papa, tears streaming from her eyes. “Papa no more fighting!” Maternal instinct kicking in, he immediately changed focus to his distressed daughter. He dropped down from his standing position to wrap his arms around her form.

“I’m sorry sweetie, did I scare you?” He pressed kisses to her curly blonde head, pulling her into his lap as he readjusted to sit in the chair.

Mabel, stunned by the sudden appearance of the six year old, watched in silence. She turned when she heard someone approaching and saw a short Mexican woman, her hair a mess. “Lo siento, mi Hermano, she blew a pile of clothes on top of me and ran out before I could stop her.”

“Who are you?” Mabel’s brows furrowed in confusion.

“Soy Miranda, Tyrone’s babysitter y mejor amigo.” She looked at Mabel with obvious contempt, having listened to the argument and absorbed the fact that she was partially responsible for the death of Asalie’s father. “And I think this has gone on long enough. Tyrone has plenty to worry about already without you stepping in when you’re not wanted.”

Mabel eyes narrowed at her. “His name is Dipper and he is MY twin brother, so I can come to see him whenever I want.”

“No, you can’t.” Dipper was wiping away Asalie’s tears. “I told you to leave me alone when I left, that you, Stan and especially Ford, are not my family. If you were, you wouldn’t have killed Bill. I never want to see or hear from you or anyone else from the Falls again. I made my choice when you and the others made yours.” He looked up at her, his expression showed he was just exhausted. “Now leave. And if you give any kind of damn about me, you won’t tell Ford I’m here, if you haven’t already.”

The female glares at him before her eyes met the teary gaze of… her niece. Dear God she was the Aunt to an abomination. Her mind made up, she turned and left without another word.

It was time to call Ford...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes I am working on the AE AU fic, I'm sorry that it's taking so long. o~o


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there my lovely readers! I’m so sorry for the hiatus, I’ve been really busy and stressed out these past few months. See, I'm in my third year at my two-year college and will (with luck) be graduating with dual Associate's Degrees (Liberal Arts Humanities and General Studies) come next May (just in time for my 22nd bday) but thanks to changing policies and what not, even creating my schedule was a royal pain in the ass, let alone other responsibilities that I've been given in various positions at the Community College and with a Full Time schedule complete with a German, Medieval History, World Archaeology and a Pop Culture class (not my choice and it's boring af). So homework and studying as well as my aforementioned various responsibilities have been keeping me on my toes. It didn't help that I had to cat-sit for neighbors during the first two weeks and most recently I got pretty sick and it's only the third week of school. >~< I try to relax and unwind during my short breaks because of my anxiety so that doesn't leave me much time for much of anything really. Plus I need to start looking at four year schools to transfer to that have a good Anthropology and (if possible) Archaeology degree program that is, preferably, close to home here in NY state. I’ll say this once. Enjoy your youth while you can. Make mistakes, have fun, do stupid shit. Trust me, you’ll laugh about it later in life and have interesting stories to share.
> 
> Hell I sure have a pretty fucking messed up love life and while it was difficult when it happened, I look back at the experiences now and laugh at how stupid I was. But you know what, I don’t regret it. Because those experiences helped me figure out who I am and find the love of my life. (Casey if you’re reading this then I hope I made you blush ;3 Love you baby~)
> 
> Anyway, yeah. Maybe don’t do what I did and accidentally date a drug dealer (LOOOOONG story that I could make my own short story about, lmao. And if you guys actually want to hear it then I’ll actually write it out in another work (with changed names of course), just go ahead and ask.) But definitely just go and enjoy your youth while it lasts, because once adulthood hits, there is no going back. No amount of makeup, fancy clothes and trends will ever be able to turn back the clock, no matter how bad you want it to.
> 
> Alright enough depressing irl shit! Let’s get to the depressing fictional shit!

Once the elder twin had left, Dipper nuzzles Asalie’s head. He gave a sad sigh. “We have to leave here. Knowing my sister, she’ll still tell Ford that she found me. And about Asalie.” Asa looked up at him, sniffling.

Her Papa had told her about his old family, that they would do unspeakable things to her if they ever found them. She knew that it would be best if they left… But still… “P-papa I don’t want to leave... I want to go to school, a-and what about Mr. Khnurn? You think he’s cute and he looks like Daddy.” Miranda raised an eyebrow as Dipper winced.

“Does he now? And you never thought to tell me that there’s un hombre caliente like that? Who is going to teach mi sobrina?” Dipper’s face flushed a deep red.

“W-well I-uh... I was trying to figure out why h-he looks exactly the same... As Bill’s human body... A-Anyway! Asalie we can’t stay here. I don’t know if I can fight off Ford and protect you at the same time. For your safety, we have to go. My happiness doesn’t matter more than you being safe.” He kisses her forehead. “Now go finish packing. I need to start liquidating things so they can’t trace us. I still need to figure out where we’re going to go next.”

Asalie starts to argue but a look from her Papa put a stop to that and she climbed off his lap with a sniffle. Dipper sighs as she goes down the hall, her head lowered. Miranda looks at him sympathetically. “She’ll understand someday... But I agree with her. You shouldn’t have to run away, especially just when things are looking up for you here.”

The brunette huffs. “I don’t want to leave either, but I don’t have a choice. If we don’t leave, I’m putting Asalie’s LIFE at risk. I won’t risk my child just for the off chance that...” He trails off.

“That the love of your life may still be alive in some way?” She finished for him, watching as he looked down.

“His last words to me were to take care of our child... I won’t let his last wish go for an impossible dream.” His heart ached at the chance that Bill might have been alive all this time.

The Mexican woman sighs and walks over to him, ruffling his curls affectionately. “I understand, mi Hermano... I just wish that things could be different. I don’t want to lose you and Asalie. Tu eres mi familia, after all.” Dipper stood up and hugs her tightly, burying his face in her dark hair. “Tu eres mi familia, también. You’ve done so much for me and Asalie, even after finding out about what Asa and Bill are...“ He pulled away after a minute or so.

“I still need to go... Lo siento, mi hermana...” She pats his shoulder. “I’ll miss you, hermanito. I’ll go help Asalie pack. Have a cup of tea while you do what you need to.” When he nodded, she turned away and went down the hall to help her niece one last time. Dipper decided to listen to her advice and walked to the kitchen. He grabbed his japanese cast iron teapot, a birthday gift from Miranda. It was dark blue and styled with a yellow Asian dragon along its face. He smiles as he some warm water and sets it next to the stove while he grabbed a kettle and set it on a burner to boil the water after he filled it.

While he was waiting for the water, he looked through his few options of teas. He sighs and chose to have the chamomile tea. He needed as much help to keep calm and relaxed as he could get. Especially now that he was basically going to dissolve 6 years worth of work to build a life. He honestly didn’t want to leave anymore then Asalie or Miranda did, but he didn’t have a choice. Not if he wanted to protect his daughter. He added a few tea leaves to the infuser and set it in the teapot.

The bubbling from his kettle prompted his attention and he grabbed a potholder and gingerly took the kettle off the stove and turned off the burner. Slowly he poured the water into the teapot until there was enough to cover the infuser before setting the kettle aside. He replaced the lid onto the teapot and set a timer for 5 minutes before dumping out the excess water and setting the kettle out to cool and dry. He was grabbing a matching tea cup from the cabinet above the stove when there was a knock at the front door.

Biting back a groan of exasperation, he set down the cup and walked to it, muttering about how if it was a salesman he would give them a flat tire. He took a breath and hoped it wasn’t Mabel again, that was the last thing he needed right now. Well her or Ford. As he reached it, he paused for a moment to steal himself then opened it. “Hello?”

Outside stood Basar with a small bouquet of yellow daffodils. Basar smiles flirtatiously at Dipper, who is currently blushing a deep red color. “Good afternoon~ I’m not interrupting anything, am I~?” Dipper swallowed thickly, forcing back the memory of Bill for the time being. He didn’t need to start crying in front of the teacher, after all. “O-oh um... Sort of...? Please, come in, I’ll explain.”

He mostly didn’t want Mabel to see Basar and think that he was Bill, but also because having a VERY attractive man outside your door with a bouquet of flowers would draw a lot of attention and he was sure his neighbors were already having a field day after Mabel was here. Let alone the cop showing up a few days before that…

...Maybe it was a good thing he was leaving.

The brunette stepped to the side to let Basar step inside the house and was promptly handed the bouquet, making him blush harder as he closed the door behind them. Basar looked around the partially packed living room and his smile faltered. “Are you... moving?”  
“I-I’m afraid so... Some... unpleasant part of my past has found me so I need to leave so it doesn’t affect my daughter.” He shuffled his feet, looking down guiltily as his grip tightened a little on the bouquet. “W-would you like some tea? I just made some chamomile tea...“ The man deserved at least a little bit of an explanation.

“Uh sure, that would be nice. Thank you.” He sat down in a chair that Dipper gestured to in the living room before the brunette walked back into the kitchen. He leans against the counter, face in his hands. “Why me...?” He muttered, unsettled by how events were unrolling so quickly. A week ago he was preparing to send his daughter to school for the first time. Now he was having to uproot everything because his past just couldn’t stay buried. He straightened up and got a tray and another teacup along with some sugar.

After removing the infuser, he set the teapot on the tray along with the cups and the sugar. Taking a breath to steady himself, he stepped out of the kitchen and over to sit across from Basar. He set the tray down on the table in between them and poured them both a cup of tea. “Sugar?” He set the teapot down and picked up the sugar bowl, ready to add sugar to his guest’s tea. “Yes please, just a little.” Dipper nodded and used the small spoon to sprinkle sugar into the blonde’s cup, stopping when he was told that it was enough. He lent back with his own cup after giving himself some sugar too and sipped it quietly, nervous.

“What part of your past is it...?” The blonde asked quietly, worried that it might have been an old partner. He watched Tyrone wince and felt guilty for jumping right into it. The answer he got wasn’t what he expected if he was honest with himself. He had been worried that it was an ex or something that wanted to get back in Dipper’s life.

The answer he got was much worse.

“... My family. They are... they are why Asalie’s father is not here anymore...“

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry this update is so short, this is basically all I got done and I had hoped to write more but I feel like a tiny update is better than no update. I promise things are going to be picking up the pace soon so chapters are going to be (at least I hope) much longer in the future. I hope this suffices as enough to wet your appetites for the upcoming chapters at least!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey would you look at that! It's an update! It's an early Christmas Miracle!!!
> 
> Pffft yeah ok.
> 
> Anyway, I'm seriously sorry for how long it took for me to get to this, things at home and at school have been... Stressful. I've been working on this update for awhile since I was worried how you all would take this, since it's very dialogue-heavy and mostly what you know from the show. I would have went longer but I saw the perfect chance for a cliffhanger and couldn't resist. XD
> 
> So yeah be ready for that.
> 
> Finals are this week so I figured I'd get this out since I have no idea how busy winter break will be, what with applying to 4 year schools to transfer to, picking out my last schedule before graduation in the spring, etc.
> 
> I seriously hope you enjoy this update (completely from Basar's POV) and PLEASE let me know what you think, especially where you feel I can improve. I do plan to someday come through and make edits to this to clean things up so every criticism, praise and bits of advice/suggestions is worth as much as gold to me.
> 
> My love to you all, my dear readers!
> 
> -Lumi

“Pardon?” Basar frowns in confusion and concern. Did they do something to drive his old partner away? He watched as Tyrone’s face grew shadowed as though he was reliving his memories just by the mere mention of his family. He... felt very bad now. But he felt an overwhelming urge to know more about this extremely cute brunette that he had hoped to court.

 

Tyrone took a deep breath before exhaling. “I suppose I should say this first. I’m the one who gave birth to Asalie, my... my partner was her father. Before you ask, no I’m not trans. Apparently I have a secret womb and I never knew until I got pregnant with her.” 

 

Well ok that  _ was _ a bit weird, but not exactly a turn off. “Alright I can understand that, there’s a lot of weird things out there like an extra arm or head, why not a womb?” Tyrone looked at him, eyes full of relief, then nodded and continued.

 

“My partner, Bill, didn’t... didn’t have the best relationship with my family when I was a kid. He terrorized us a bit and almost got us killed a couple of times, not intentionally of course but he also didn’t really actively try to prevent it. Well except for one time... But that’s not something I want to talk about right now...“ Basar nodded, that was understandable. After all, they’d only knew each other for a couple days, he couldn’t expect for either of them to spill the entirety of their life stories so soon.

 

“He had a lot of issues from his childhood that affected him when he was older, not to mention Bill was a genius, which made it difficult to relate to people on top of his childhood issues. He had plans for an experiment that was extremely risky and he needed help but he knew that no one would willingly help him because they would think he was insane. So when he met my Great Uncle Ford, who is also a genius, he lied to him about the true nature of the experiment and manipulated him into helping him, pretending to be friends and gaining his trust.” Ok so the guy was a major, but brilliant, wacko. Got it.

 

“A third partner, a college buddy of Ford and another genius, was recruited for his technological expertise, his name is Fiddleford. One day they were testing the experiment and there was an accident. Fiddleford was the only one affected and it did something to his head, made him really paranoid and fearful to the point he invented a memory erasing ray gun and wiped away his unpleasant memories. But there had been a bad side effect from its repeated use. It slowly ate away at his psyche and left him practically insane, living as a hobo in the junkyard that no one liked or realized was the once genius.” Holy shit how many geniuses did the kid know? And crazy people too, apparently.

 

“Ford was unaware of this, he was too absorbed into the project that he didn’t think to check on Fiddleford after he abandoned the experiment. But Ford started growing paranoid because he was hardly taking care of himself and began to question Fiddleford’s accident. Eventually he realized that Bill had lied to him. He cut off all ties with him and kept all their research notes in three journals. He hid two of them before he contacted his estranged identical twin brother, my Great Uncle Stan, for the first time in about a decade just to give him the last journal and to tell him to leave and go as far away as possible. They began to argue and fight and then it got physical. Stan got burned by a piece of the experiment’s equipment and shoved Ford into the experiment without intending to, unaware of their surroundings. Ford went into a... coma...“ Ok that obviously isn’t what happened but he wouldn’t pry into what really happened. At least not until the brunette was ready to admit the truth.

 

“He was like that for thi- a long time, meanwhile Stan did everything he could to help him but he ran out of money and turned the house into a tourist trap to make ends meet and assumed Ford’s identity. He was unaware of Bill’s existence so when one summer, Mabel, my twin sister, and I showed up when we were 12, none of us knew about him. I found one of the journals and only told Mabel about it and began to try to figure out who the author was. What we didn’t realize was that Bill was around and he saw the journal I had after a dumb fake child psychic hired him to steal something from Stan because he wanted to ruin his business after we made a fool of him. Bill wanted them back so he could continue his experiment so he began to mess with us to try to get the journal I had by manipulating a few people we knew in the town.” Ok something wasn’t adding up. Just how old was Tyrone’s partner? By the sounds of it he should have been well into his adulthood when Tyrone had been 12.

 

“Anyway, we kept thwarting him until one day Stan finally figured out a way to help Ford but it attracted the attention of the government. We hid in the secret basement and fought because Stan had hidden what he was doing from us and the government storming our home freaked us out and we nearly stopped him from saving Ford because the cost had a high chance of causing massive damage and it ended up being Mabel’s choice and she decided to trust him. Ford re- um... woke up, but he was still angry with Stan about what had happened and they argued. But the government was still trying to get to us so after answering a few questions, Ford used the memory gun, which we had found after a cult tried to wipe our minds with it-”

 

“Wait a cult?” He interrupted, confused. “Kid what kind of town was this? It seems to be some kind of magnet for weird stuff and now I seriously want to see it.”

 

Tyrone chuckled softly, at some kind of private joke that he didn’t explain. “I’ll... explain that later. Maybe...“ Basar narrowed his eyes a little but nodded, leaning back in his chair and gestured for his crush/host to continue as he sipped his cup of tea. Tyrone sipped his own tea, fidgeting a little. “Ford initially would try to keep me and Mabel out of it but we managed to convince him to let us help. He asked us about Bill and we told him what we knew but he wouldn’t tell us how he knew Bill. We should have questioned that but we were too enamored by the idea of stopping him since we were, ya know, kids.” Well by the sound of it they had been doing a pretty damn good job at kicking his ass on their own, even at 12.

 

“For most of the rest of the summer we kinda just went about things as normal except for occasionally setting something up for whenever Bill decided to show up again. But one day, about a week before mine and Mabel’s birthday which was the last day we would be spending in the town since it was the last day of summer, things got crazy. Ford had found the last piece to what Bill needed to complete his experiment and had secured it a couple weeks prior but it wasn’t properly contained so he asked me to help him get the resource we needed to seal it for good. Mabel had planned to go around and make plans for our birthday party but when she heard Ford and I she told me to go ahead with him and gave me a walkie-talkie so we could keep in touch since there was zero cell service in the middle of the woods.” What could they need from the woods that would contain something? Wood? A glue made out of plant stuff?

 

“While Ford and I were searching we got into... trouble. Ford was nearly kidnapped but I managed to rescue him. He praised me and asked me to become his apprentice and Mabel overheard me say yes over the walkie-talkie. What I didn’t know was that she had been trying to contact me but because of where we were I wasn’t getting a signal. Apparently all her plans were falling through and she was realizing that we were growing up and we’d soon leave the town and summer would be over. She was upset because she hated the idea of growing up and when she heard I was planning to stay she felt like I was abandoning her, leaving her behind.” Well that was kind of a silly thing to get upset over, even for an almost 13 year old.

 

“So when I came back, we argued. I tried to remind her that summer ends and things change but she ran off and accidentally grabbed my backpack instead of hers, mine had the piece that Bill needed. Ford tried to reassure me that she would understand, to just give her time to think it over so I didn’t go to find her. We were about to seal the piece when we realized that Mabel had taken the wrong pack. We were about to go after her and find her but by the time we got outside it was too late. Bill’s experiment had been enacted. We don’t know how he got it, Mabel said that she didn’t remember anything after running off into the woods...”

 

He looked like he wanted to continue but was hesitant to do so and Basar rest a hand on his, giving him a small, reassuring smile. “You can tell me all the details another time. What happened later? I assume you stopped him?” Tyrone’s lips curved in a shaky, grateful smile before fading and he nodded.

 

“We stopped him after a lot of struggle and sacrifice, Stan lost his memories but miraculously recovered them after some time and Mabel’s scrapbooks helping to jog his memory. Mabel and I celebrated our birthday and we went home to Piedmont, California while Stan and Ford had made up and went to explore the world on a boat after Stan gave ownership of the Shack to Soos, an employee of his who’d worked for him for years and was a really nice guy. After that we would go back for the summer, meeting up with our friends and family.”

 

“What about Bill?” Basar tipped his head in curiosity, his hand still on top of the brunette’s. The other man sighs and looks away. “We thought he was dead. Never thought to look for him or even care. His body had disappeared in the chaos after it was over so we never could take care of it. We just figured it was dragged off by a bear or something and no one cared after all that he had done...“   
  


“But…” The blonde gently prompted, squeezing his fingers gently and watched as a small blush graced the pale skin of the cute man.

 

“But in the beginning of the summer Mabel and I were to turn 16... I found him while I was exploring, he was taking shelter in the woods, too afraid to try to go out to the town for supplies. For good reason, though. Anyway... He looked like shit, weak and barely able to do much more than sit in his shelter. I was about to run off to get the others but... I felt bad for him. Yeah, he had done horrible things but that was in the past and he didn’t have the energy to try to hurt a fly, let alone me.”

 

Tyrone dragged his free hand through his curls and Basar caught a glimpse of some kind of birthmark and he had to swallow his curiosity. For now. “He saw me and was terrified, he thought I was here to finish him off for good. But instead, for some reason, I decided to help him. We were untrusting of each other but we came to a compromise, a deal. I would help him get better and in exchange he would teach me what he knew. Neither would attempt to harm the other, intentionally at least, and I wouldn’t tell my family that he was alive because they would without a doubt kill him. Or at least Stan and Ford would, Mabel and I had begun to drift apart already and I had no idea how she would react.”

 

“Overtime Bill and I became... friends. We actually had a lot in common, in an odd way.” He smiled a little, face creased at the bittersweet memories.

 

“By the end of the summer we made an agreement, since I couldn’t help stay to take care of him once the summer ended. I helped him get a disguise so he could get what he needed from town, and I helped him make a proper shelter that would keep him safe and warm. In exchange he swore not to cause any trouble. He couldn’t get a job so I helped him get a fake credit card so he didn’t have to worry about money.” At a look from the teacher, Dipper shrugged. “My Grunkle was a conman and criminal, credit fraud wasn’t a big deal.”

“You are a very interesting man, Tyrone.” He chuckles, leaning back with another sip of his tea. He certainly knew how to pick them, huh. “I am very glad to have met you.” The brunette smiles a little, something in his gaze softening but at the same time he looked almost guilty.

 

“I’ve been told that before... I couldn’t really give him a phone since there was no service in the middle of the woods, let alone a way to keep it charged, but we decided to exchange letters written in a code we made together so that no one but us could read it. We spent the night of my birthday hanging out and talking before I had to go home. After that we kept talking through mail, getting to know each other better and I would tell him about how the world has changed, how school was going... When the time to go back to the Falls arrived, I was really excited, I couldn’t even sleep the night before the bus trip up.” Tyrone paused, as though he was debating something.

 

“A couple days into my return, Bill confessed his feelings for me. At the time, I didn’t realize that I was gay, let alone in love with him. I asked him to give me a few days, that I was confused and wanted to make sure how I felt about him. I could tell it hurt him to hear that but he agreed, not wanting to force me into anything since technically that would not only mean he would lose me as a friend and companion, he would also break our deal. It was... a big risk for him to admit his love to me. I was only 16 at the time and he was much older then me.” Ah so he HAD been an adult... Wait the guy was a pedophile?! He opened his mouth to say something but the single parent raised his hand before he could say anything.

 

“Before you say anything, it was much more complicated than an age gap and we didn’t do anything sexual until I was almost 18. He never even  _ tried _ to seduce me until I flat out told him I wanted it.” Well... Now he felt awkward. “Anyway... It took me 3 days to figure it out, and even then it took Mabel trying to set me up on a blind date with a girl I had thought I had feelings for years before and was turned down by. I told Mabel I wasn’t interested and when she asked me why, if I had feelings for another, I blurted out that I wasn’t into girls. It didn’t hit me until I said it but it was true. After that summer the one girl I thought I loved romantically turned me down, I never even looked at another girl. I thought I was just waiting for her, hoping maybe someday she’d change her mind or something but... I just didn’t like girls beyond being friends.”

 

“So that night, I snuck out of the house to go find Bill. When I found him, I told him I felt the same and after that we became a couple. It took some serious adjustments and wasn’t always easy but we made it work.” He smiles a little into his cup. “On our anniversary the year I was going to turn 19, he made me a cake from scratch. Or, tried at least. It didn’t look good but it tasted amazing. He had used an old unused cabin to bake in and taught himself to make it. He’d never done something like that before and to know he went through so much effort... Well needless to say, that was the night Asalie was conceived.” He chuckles a little before the happiness in his face faded completely, only leaving a sad husk of a face behind.

 

“One morning... near the end of the summer... Ford became suspicious of my excursions into the woods after I mentioned I missed the migration of something he’d asked me about even though I supposedly was in that area when the migration was scheduled to pass through. So he followed me. And when he saw Bill and me kiss... He shot him in the side... Then he dragged him back to the Shack despite my attempts to stop him... Once inside, he told Mabel and Stan to chain me down in the basement and told them what he had seen, who Bill was... They made me watch as Ford killed the man I loved more than anything, who fathered the child in my womb, right before my eyes while I was powerless to stop them...“ Basar’s face was one of shear horror. How could they do that?! “All because they wouldn’t accept that he had changed... Even give him the chance to prove himself...“

 

Tyrone’s grip on the cup grew tighter, his knuckles growing white. “They kept an eye on me but a week after they killed him, I snuck out with what money I could grab and fake credit cards as well as some supplies. I fled, going from state to state, hiding from them under alias after alias. I stopped only for a few days at a time, the only exception being when when I had to give birth. I stayed in an abandoned house I had cleaned up and gave myself a c-section when my water broke since I didn’t have a birth canal. And yes, it was  _ VERY _ painful.” He answered before the question could even form in the teacher’s horrified mind.

 

“Finally about around 6 years ago I arrived here in Cairo. I took another new name, forged some documents, and made myself a life for me and my daughter, with some help from Miranda of course. She’s our neighbor and babysits Asalie for me when she can.” The gears slowly turned in the blonde’s mind.

 

“I-I... I am so sorry... That is just... just horrible...“ Basar looked down at the now cold tea in his cup, reflecting on the man’s words. “What is... What is your name then... Your real one...?”

 

The brunette sighed. “Dipper Pines.”

 

Basar nods slowly, processing his words. Before he could ask anything else though, there was a knock at the door. Out of habit, Basar stood and, before Dipper could stop him, he walked to the door and opened it with a smile. On the other side of the door was a short woman with mahogany brown hair, a slightly more red brown then the brunette in the living room. She looked up at him, stunned and eyes wide in... Horror? Shock? Basar opened his mouth to speak when the strange woman’s face hardened and she pulled out a strange looking gun and pointed it at his head.

 

He had a moment to say ‘Fuck’ before the gun was fired.


End file.
